


Watchman

by shockvaluecola



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: M/M, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Pre-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Protective Bucky Barnes, World War II
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-18
Updated: 2014-05-18
Packaged: 2018-01-25 16:05:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1654463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shockvaluecola/pseuds/shockvaluecola
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bucky likes to keep watch. Needs to, really.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Watchman

Bucky likes to keep watch.

Anytime they do anything more strenuous than mouth stuff, Stevie usually conks out right after. They have to be careful, find ways to make it easier and take it slower, or else Steve will have an asthma attack right in the middle and there's no way to not get blue balls after that. Even with all their ways to drag it out and squeeze in every second they can, by the time Bucky has them both cleaned up Steve's usually having trouble keeping his eyes open. Early bedtime. Bucky's had to maneuver an unconscious Steve into pajamas more than once.

So Bucky sits by the window, in pants that don't quite fit and no shirt, blowing cigarette smoke out into the night and waving frantically anytime it looks like it's going to blow back into the apartment, where Steve might breathe it in. Worse, he won't let it get into the sheets – they can only afford one bed and one set of sheets so if it gets to where Steve can't sleep in it they're fucked. 

“Bucky?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you staring at me?”

“No.” Bucky flicks his cigarette out the window. It's the truth; Steve breathes loud enough that he doesn't need to stare.

“You don't have to stay up and watch over me, you know. I never died in my sleep before we moved in here.”

“I wasn't,” Bucky lies. “I wanted a cigarette.”

“The bed's cold,” Steve says. “Come back.”

It's late spring and Bucky knows it's probably not cold enough in the room to pose any threat to Steve, but the little punk knows how to bring Bucky running. He crawls into the bed and pulls Steve close, letting him leach body heat. Bucky doesn't point out that Steve never died before, sure, but Steve wasn't doing the things they do now. He can't help being worried that just now, when Bucky is happiest, Steve will be taken from him.

***

The tent doesn't have a window, and it's darker and quieter. So Bucky sits by the tent flap, letting enough light in to see, because he can't hear Steve's breathing anymore. He doesn't wheeze and he's strong and fast and he can lift Bucky up like he's a feather pillow. He can fuck all night and come back for more and yet when he falls asleep, it's with that same sleepy-eyed resistance and he stills rubs his forehead nervously when he's faced with a dame.

Bucky still thinks he's going to be taken away, that all this is too good to be true, so even though he is not superhuman and they're fighting a war and he really does need his sleep, he stays up and watches.

“Bucky?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you staring at me?”

“Yeah.”

The pause is longer this time. All their pauses are, now. “You don't have to keep watch,” he says. “I'm not sick anymore.”

Bucky doesn't bother lying to Steve anymore. “Yeah, I do.”

**Author's Note:**

> buy my [book](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IH9TF84) and say hi on [tumblr](http://lostquaintrelle.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
